The Nine Tailed Sage
by Beekeeper101
Summary: A war has been waged between the hated Akatsuki organization and the Five Great Nations. One man assumes the identity of The Land of Fire's gratest hero and challenges the forces of the Akatsuki. Fighting not only for the Liberation of The Land of Fire but for all of the Five Great Shinobi Nations
1. Prologue

The Nine Tailed Sage

Prologue:

When the Land of Fire was attacked by a Nine Tailed fox spirit, one sage engaged the fox in an epic confrontation that had scarred the land and shook the heavens above. The fox spirit may have held an unimaginable amount of power. But the sage was able to wield a special sealing jutsu in which he used to seal the beast inside himself, and had tamed the Nine Tails.

As time passed on the sage had used the Nine Tails power to defend the Land of Fire and the entire Five Great Nations and had restored peace and prosperity to the land. The sage was recognized as the Land of Fire's greatest hero and would be known in history as The Nine Tailed Sage.

But peace cannot always last, for an evil organization known as the Akatsuki has waged war against the Five Great Nations in search of the nine Jinchuuriki, nine specially chosen people who were selected by the Nine Tailed Sage. To carry nine separate tailed beasts similar to the Nine tailed Fox in hopes that they could take over as Guardians of the Five Great Nations once he had passed on.

As the war waged on the people of The Five Great Nations began to lose hope as more and more great Shinobis were lost. But still even with the blood shed, even with the tragitys that followed the war. The people still believed in their greatest champion and that someday someone would take his place and fight for their freedom and bring peace back to the nations.


	2. Chapter 1 Re:Edited

Chapter One: The Return of a Hero

The landscape was scarred, buildings burning or crumbling, forests torn apart, bodies falling down to the ground, drowning in pools of blood as the carnage continued. The Akatsuki's forces showed no mercy as they demonstrated their dominance over the Village Hidden in the Leaves otherwise known as Konohagakure. Konohagakure is one of the last remaining territories that wasn't occupied by the Akatsuki. The Allied forces did what they could to secure the civilians a safe passage away from the war zone. But, like in all wars casualties were lost no matter how hard the Allied forces tried, the defenses crumbled against the Akatsuki's might.

A young man wore a flat green jacket, with a scroll patch on both the left and right breast plate with a red swirling insignia on the back he also wore a dark spiky pony tail.

"Shadow Stitching Justu" the young man said, summoned a Justu in which a giant shadow was cast underneath a group of the Akatsuki's quickly penetrated and stitching the group painfully to the ground. Akatsuki's cries of agony and pain roared through the group while the young man moved on to assist in the battle any way he could.

"Shikamaru…. Shikamaru do you copy?" a famine voice said over his communicator.

"Yeah I read ya Sakura. What's the status on the evacuation?" Shikamaru asked.

"According to the reports the village is about sixty percent evacuate, but that doesn't include the casualties from when they first attacked." The pinked haired Kunoichi replied.

"Do you know where the others are?"

"Hinata, Neji, Lee, Choji, and TenTen, are leading squads one, three, and four in the front lines. Kiba, Shino, and Sai are aiding in the evacuations. Ino and I are leading the intelligence division." Sakura replied.

"And what about the village?"

"We've lost forty percent of the village and if things keep going the way they are we'll lose another twenty."

"Cripes….. Alright it looks like we won't be able to save the village but we can at least save the people. Get ahold of Hinata and the others, tell them that they need to with draw from the front line and focus their strength on aiding the others in the evacuation. I'll rendezvous with them by the Hokage's monument. We'll lose the battle but we'll at least live to fight another day."

"Roger over and out."

Shikamaru then ran towards the monument as fast as his body would allow him.

"Hinata…. Hinata, do you copy?"

"Yes Sakura we read you." The young Hyuga heiress replied. Hinata and the others wore a similar outfit much like Shikamaru's. Hinata also allowed her long midnight hair to flow down till it reached the bottom of her back.

"We need you and the others to fall back to the evacuation site Shikamaru said he'll meet you all there."

"Roger… Neji did you get that?" Hinata asked.

"Yes Lady Hinata." Neji replied.

"Were all falling back as we speak I suggest you do the same."

"I will Neji I'm on my….." Hinata was cut off as a group from the Akatsuki surrounded her.

Hinata then gather her chakra and charged into the group of men head on.

"Eight Tri Grams Rotaiton!" Hinata shouted.

A massive swirling dome of chakra surrounded the young Kunoichi and forced back the Akatsuki's agents, swirling them in a small vortex at great speeds until they were shot out and scattered throughout the battle field.

As soon as Hinata canceled her Justu she appeared out of breath and could barely stand.

"Lady Hinata …. Lady Hinata are you alright?"

"Huff…Huff… Yes… I was ambushed by a group from the Akatsuki but I was able to hold them back."

"Can you walk?"

Hinata quickly regained her composer.

"Ye…Yes I'm fine."

"Alright try and make it to the rendezvous point if you don't report in we'll send a portal out to get you." Sakura said

"Okay Sakura over and out." Hinata replied

She clenched onto her right arm as tightly as she could and slowly began her walk to the Hokage's monument.

"C'mon Hinata pull yourself together do you think he would give in so easily?" Hinata asked herself as she continued her walk. Suddenly a slight chill ran down her spine, as though someone from the distance was watching her.

Quickly Hinata activated her Byakugan and used her enhanced sight to search her surroundings. At first all seamed quiet and most of the battles were taking place far away from her. Then with a quick glance from behind she maneuvered her body in order to avoid the blade that almost took her head and dove straight to the ground.

"What I thought I was the only one for miles." Hinata said as she stared at her attacker.

A rush of pain swept through her ankle.

"Oh no I must have twisted my ankle when I avoided his sword." Hinata said as she held her ankle as tightly as she could.

"He… I missed you the first time, but you won't be so lucky this time little girl.' The man said as he pointed the tip of the blade towards Hinata.

He then lifted the blade high into the air in an executioner style manner.

"Oh no this is it." Hinata said as she closed her eyes tightly.

"Not so fast." A mysterious voice shouted.

Hinata heard the blade crashing down, and making contact, she quickly opened her eyes and to her amazement the attack had been stopped by a man in a red hooded cloak with black colored flames covering the bottom of the cloak.

As she closely examined she realized that the man had crossed his arms together and had caught the blade between them.

"Urgh…. Who are you?" The Akatsuki agent shouted.

"It's not obvious?" The cloaked man asked.

"I'm the Akatsuki's worst nightmare!" The man proclaimed.

He then threw his arms straight into the air, causing the Akatsuki agent to lose his grip over his sword as it flew high into the air. The cloaked man then drew in his right arm and then in a flash he threw his palm straight into agent's chest and sent him flying through a nearby building.

The man then relaxed his body and took in a breath of air and turned his attention towards Hinata.

"Are you all right?" the cloaked man asked.

Hinata looked straight at the man in awe.

"Ye…Yeah I'm fin… ugh." Hinata quickly grabbed onto her ankle.

"You're hurt please let me look at your ankle for a second." The cloaked man asked.

Hinata wasn't sure if she could trust him, she thought it was strange that not only did he hide his identity but also cloak his voice.

"GenJutsu maybe?" Hinata asked herself.

"Don't worry all I want to do is check your ankle."

"Oh…Okay." Hinata replied.

The man gently held onto Hinata's leg and examined her ankle with the precision of a medical ninja. As the man examined her ankle Hinata looked at the man more carefully. Not much could be told about him besides his cloak and the wrappings that surrounded his face except for his eyes which were yellowed colored with horizontal block pupils and red colored eye lids. He wore a black jump suit with orange lines running down the sleeves, pants legs, and the center of his shirt until it created a circle surrounding another circle on his shirt.

"Ah it's just as I thought." The man said.

"Wha..What?" Hinata said in a startled tone.

"You sprained your ankle when you took a nose dive from that guy's blade." The man replied.

"Don't worry, I can heal it but it'll still feel sore afterwards." The man then removed a pair of black fingerless gloves with steel plates on top of the gloves, and placed his bare palms on her ankle.

A light green colored aura covered the man's palms and slowly began to heal Hinata's ankle.

"Who is this man?" Hinata asked as a blush started to appear on her face.

"I know I'm not as good as my grandmother but I at least can mend a sprained ankle on a pretty Kunoichi when she's down." the man said. At this point Hinata's blush had spread all throughout her face and had become a deeper shade of red. Hinata thought, only one person made me blushed this way but I haven't seen him in over ten years.

The man then grabbed two pieces of wood from a nearby debris pile and tore off a piece of his cloak, which he used to tie the two pieces of wood around her ankle.

"And there that'll do it."

"But your cloak?" Hinata said.

"Eh I got a ton of these back home." The man replied

He then lifted himself off the ground and extended his left arm to Hinata. She hesitated at first but then after thinking of how he had helped her she figured that she could trust the mysterious man.

"Th…Thank you." Hinata said as she grabbed onto the man's hand.

"No problem." The man replied as he slowly lifted her off the ground.

"Is your ankle alright?" The man asked.

"Ye…Yeah I think so….. ow." Hinata replied after she held onto her ankle.

"Your still hurt." The man said as he grabbed onto Hinata's waist.

"It…It's nothing." Hinata said.

"Don't be silly I can take you to meet up with your friends."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure." The man said.

He then lifted Hinata's right arm over his shoulder and began walking alongside her.

"Ready?"

"Uh hu."

"Good now we can get you to…" The man stopped and quickly turned his attention behind Hinata and himself.

"What is it?"

"There's more of them coming." The man said

Then from out of nowhere a small group of Akatsuki agents came leaping through the air straight towards Hinata and the cloaked man.

"What are we gonna do?" Hinata asked as she turned her attention to the cloaked man.

"Don't worry I got it covered." The man said as he formed a hand sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The man shouted.

Then a cloud of smoke engulfed both the man and Hinata, and from the cloud came six clones leaping into the air to combat the Akatsuki agents. One of the clones sent a forceful punch at one of the agents, and another used the force of his spinning axe kick and sent another agent to the ground.

While the cloaked man's clones fought off the Akatsuki's agents the real cloaked man had leapt into the air while carrying Hinata bridal style from rooftop to roof top.

"Sorry about this, I thought it was the only way to get you outta there safely." The man said.

"It… it's fine." Hinata said as the blush on her face came back.

Meanwhile back at the Hokage's monument.

"What lady Hinata hasn't reported back yet?" Neji shouted as he and the others returned.

"No not since we last reported to her." Sakura said.

"Have you checked with her yet?"

"We were just about to when you returned." Sakura replied.

She then held her communicator against her ear.

"Hinata… Hinata this is headquarters do you read?"

There was no response.

"Lady Hinata please say something!" Neji said.

"This is Hinata headquarters, I read you."

"Oh thank god." Neji said as he took in a breath of relief.

"Hinata what's you location?" Sakura asked.

Then from out of nowhere the cloaked man and Hinata had landed right in the middle of the group ninja below.

"What the!" Shikamaru said.

As soon as the cloaked man had touched down he gently placed Hinata next to him.

"Who are you!" Shikamaru said as he and the others pulled out kunai knives.

"Wait, wait this man saved me from the Akatsuki agents." Hinata proclaimed as she stood in front of the cloaked man.

"Lady Hinata please step away from this man for all we know he could be an Akatsuki agent." Neji said.

"Wait hold on Neji take a look at Hinata's ankle." Sakura said.

"What about it?"

"Look notice how it's bandaged with a piece of this guy's cloak."

"Ye…Yeah he healed my wounds when I sprained my ankle." Hinata said.

Sakura then examined Hinata's ankle.

"She's right he did mend her wounds." Sakura said with a surprised tone.

"So what this guy can heal a few sprained legs that doesn't quite convince me that he fights on our side." Shikamaru said while holding on his kunai.

"Shikamaru!" Hinata shouted.

"Hey instead of worrying about my allegiance you should worry about that." The cloaked man said as he pointed to the small army of Akatsuki agents heading towards them.

"Oh man if they reach the shelters then the whole village is done for." Shikamaru said.

The cloaked man slowly walked in front of the others.

"Don't worry I can take them." The cloaked man proclaimed.

"What!" Sakura shouted.

"You've gotta be kidding there's hundreds of Akatsuki agents coming towards us and you want us to believe that one guy in a cloak can fend them off?"

"Not fend them off. I'm gonna beat them all to a pulp." The cloaked man said.

He then stood completely still absorbing energy from nature itself as he made the same hand sign as before.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Then a massive cloud of smoke engulfed the man, and from out of the smoke a swarm of the cloaked man's clone came falling down onto the army of Akatsuki agents. All holding massive sized orbs of swirling chakra in the palms of their hands.

"Sage Arts Massive Rasengan Mega Barrage!" each of the cloaked man's clones shouted.

Terror and fear took over the faces of all the Akatsuki's agents as the cloaked man's attacked made contact with the Akatsuki's men. Then multiple swirling domes of energy became one gigantic size orb and in a blinding light a massive explosion shook the land.

"Oh man." Shikamaru said as he tried to shield his eyes from the debris.

"Hang on lady Hinata." Neji said as he held onto Hinata.

Then once the light had faded there was nothing but silence. Shikamaru and the others tried to regain their sight after the mysterious man's unimaginable attack.

"Is…Is it over?" Hinata asked.

"I… I dunno." Shikamaru said as he tried to force his eyelids to open.

His sight wasn't clear but he could see the mysterious man standing proud over his victory against the Akatsuki. He also noticed how the mysterious man was holding massive scroll next to him.

"Wh…Who are you?" Shikamaru asked.

Then man didn't say a word but instead gave a quick laugh.

"Be seein ya." The man said with a wave. Then a cloud of smoke engulfed the man and much like how he entered the battlefield he vanished without a trace. But Shikamaru noticed how the cloaked man had left his scroll which Shikamaru thought the man had left on purpose to give them a clue on his identity.

Shikamaru quickly ran to the scroll and unsealed it quickly skimming through the sheets of blank paper.

"Well Shikamaru didja find anything?" Sakura asked as she and the other approached him.

"No all I'm finding is blank sheets of…..What!" Shikamaru shouted as he finally found written words on the scroll.

"What is it?" Hinata asked.

Shikamaru didn't answer as he was still shocked by what was written on the scroll.

"You…You guys won't believe it."

"Just show us already!" Sakura said.

Shikamaru did what he was told and reviled what was written on the scroll.

"It' can't be." Neji said as he and the other read the scroll.

"It's… It's impossible ." Hinata said

"It's right there in black and white." Shikamaru said still holding the scroll.

"What should we do Shikamaru?" Sakura asked.

"Well first we should bring this to Kiba if there's a scent on it he'll be able to track it. Then we should bring this to lady Tsunade, she'll probably want to look at this." Shikamaru said as he and the others had read what was written on the scroll once again.

"The Nine Tailed Sage has returned."


	3. Chapter 2: A New Threat

Chapter Two: A New Threat

As the people of The Village Hidden in the leaves began rebuilding their once beautiful home Shikamaru and others had brought the giant scroll left behind by their mysterious savior into the office of the Hokage.

"Well what do you make of it Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked as she and the others watched the Hokage examined the mysterious scroll.

"I don't know." Tsunade replied.

"Are you sure that you weren't able to pick up any scent from the scroll Kiba?"

"I'm afraid not Milady me and Akamaru couldn't pick up any kind of scent what so ever." Kiba said as he petted his loyal ninja hound.

Tsunade gave a disappointing sigh as she rolled the massive scroll back in place.

"Do you have any idea of who this mysterious man is Lady Tsunade?" Hinata asked.

The Hokage didn't answer the young Kunoichi's question but instead turned towards her window.

"I wonder if it could be him?" Tsunade asked herself.

Hinata, Sakura, Neji, and Kiba all stared at The Hokage with questionable looks on their faces.

"Everyone I want all of you to aid in the rebuilding of the village." The Hokage demanded.

"Yes Ma'am." Everyone replied.

As everyone left Lady Tsunade's office The Hokage's attendant Shizune entered the office.

"You wanted to see me Milady?" She asked.

"Quickly Shizune close the door." Tsunade said.

"Of course Milady." Shizune said as she closed the door. She then walked to her former instructor.

"What do you need Lady Tsunade?"

"I need you to prepare a message for me."

"Of course where do you need this message sent?"

"Mount Myoboku."

Shizune shrieked after hearing the lace where her master wanted the message to be sent.

"Wh…Why there!" Shizune asked.

"Let's just say…..There's a person of interest that I would like to see." Tsunade said with a grin.

Meanwhile somewhere deep within a jungle like forest, stood a small shrine where a giant toad statue stood. Beneath the statue the mysterious cloaked man appeared tired, and exhausted from the aftermath of his battle against the invading Akatsuki.

"There you are!" A massive sized orange toad with purple markings said as the cloaked man began to remove the bandages from his face.

"Hey Gamakichi." The cloaked man said as he finished removing the bandages from his face.

"Boy the old man is gonna be pretty mad if he finds out that you left the mountain like you did." Gamakichi said as he hopped next to the cloaked man.

"Don't worry I placed a shadow clone in my place before I left." The cloaked man said as he removed the hood of his cloak reveling a spiky blond haired young man with three whisker scares on both sides of his face.

"I hope your right kid because me and Gamatatsu had to go through a lot of trouble to keep your little disappearing act on the quite side And hey where's our snacks that you promised us!" Gamakichi demanded.

The mysterious young man stood shocked as beads of sweat came running down the sides of his face.

"Oh crap I forgot that I promised them that I'd get them snacks for covering for me!" the young man said to himself.

"Oh yea…yeah the snacks well I…uh…um.."

"NARUTOOOOOOOO!" An angry voice shouted.

"Oh boy looks like you're in big trouble blondey" Gamakichi said in a mocking tone.

"Oh man…." The spiky blond young man said as her ran towards the voice.

A few minutes later the young man had found and elderly man with long spiky white hair that he kept in a ponytail. Who also wore a green kimono and matching pants and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side sitting underneath the shade of a tree in an open meadow. The man had an angry look on his face as he took in a breath of smoke of his pipe with one hand and held a letter with the other.

"Uh hey grandpa Jiraiya….." Naruto said with an awkward smile.

"Do you want to explain why we just received a letter from The Hokage. Saying that there were reports of a Nine Tailed Sage impersonator aiding the allied forces against an Akatsuki raid!" The old man demanded.

"I….Uh….Well…You see…." Naruto said as he twiddled his fingers in an awkward fashion.

The elderly man took another breath of smoke before he began to talk.

"Naruto the whole point of you living here at Mount Myoboku is so that you can be safe from the Akatsuki until you can harness the powers of the Kyuubi."

"His name's Kurama!" Naruto added.

"Right Kurama."

"I'm sorry grandpa I didn't originally plan to fight. I just wanted to get off the mountain for a bit and go exploring the neighboring lands. That is until I saw all the fighting that was going on in the village."

"Oh so that gave you permission to masquerade as the Nine Tailed Sage and fight in a battle that wasn't even yours to begin with?"

"Well no but…"

"But what?"

Naruto took in a breath of air before he continued his speech.

"All my life you, grandma, mom and dad have been preparing me to fight against the Akatsuki right?"

"Well…..Yes."

"And wasn't it you guys who have been telling me that I have to fight for the weak and the innocent? If I hadn't intervened when I did then hundreds or maybe even thousands of innocent lives would have been lost today."

The elderly man took in a sigh before he began to speak again.

"Well I suppose I can't be too mad at you, after all the reports say that you did save the villagers and even a young Kunoichi who surprisingly turned out to be the heiress of one of the most powerful clans in the village ." The old man said with a smile.

"Um well you know me just kicking butt, taking names, and saving damsels in distress." Naruto said with an awkward smile.

"Well since we cleared the air I think I'll go meditate with Gamakichi and Gamatatsu over by the falls." Naruto said ahas e tried to slide away from his grandfather.

"Ah not so fast kid I'm not done yet." Naruto's grandfather said.

"The Hokage has asked for an audience with the two of us." The elderly man said.

"The Hokage wants to see us?" Naruto asked.

"What is there an echo here yes The Hokage wants to see us ASAP!" The old man said.

"Alright alright sheesh just let me change into something else first. Don't want anyone to recognize me right?" Naruto asked with a grin

"Finally you're using your brain for once." The old man said with a smile.

"Not funny Pervy Sage!" Naruto shouted as he ran off.

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Jiraiya shouted as he gave chase.

Meanwhile in a deep underground facility, the Akatsuki agents who had escaped from The Nine Tailed Sage's assault were returning beaten and battered from their failed mission.

"How could this happened Tobi!" A man shouted. The man had spiky red hair, piercings on his nose and both his ears and wore a black coat with a red cloud design.

"How this legion of some of my best men be out matched by this Nine Tailed Sage imposter!"

"We….Well…Sss….Sir….This…Nine Tiled Sage impersonator….De…..Demonstrated a great amount of strength and power sir." An intimidated younger man replied. The man wore a mask with a swirling design that lead to only one eye hole on the entire mask and was also fashioned in the same coat as his superior.

"Quickly we must assemble another army and take Konohagakure before they can rebuild their forces." The man said.

"Bubub…But sir….these are all the forces that we have available…remember the others have been sent on invading missions throughout the region." The masked man said.

The other man clenched his fists until they began to pop.

"L…Lord Pain?" the masked man asked in fear.

"Go to our vault and grab a couple million Ryo."

"A COUPLE MILLION RYO!" The masked man shouted.

"What for?"

"Let's just say there's a mercenary that I want to hire to exterminate this…nuisance." Lord Pain said with a grin.


	4. Chapter3:Reunions and Forgotten Memories

Chapter Three: Reunions and Forgotten Memories

It had been a few days since the attack on The Villages Hidden in the Leaves, and still the great lost and tragedy could be felt as though it were yesterday. But the citizens of the village were able to find the strength and courage to rebuild their beloved home.

There we find two young women, one a short pinked spiky haired Kunoichi named Sakura, and a long midnight colored haired Kunoichi named Hinata.

"Man I wished that Lady Tsunade didn't ask us to retrieve the Village's traveler's log on such a nice day." Sakura said as she and Hinata walked through the busy streets of the village.

"I agree." Hinata said as she twiddled her fingers.

Sakura noticed how Hinata was still limping due to the injury she had received from when the village was under attack.

"You know I still can't believe how well trained that Nine Tailed Sage was when he fixed your ankle." Sakura said.

Hinata replied by twiddling her fingers while a blush began to grow on her face.

"Hey Hinata did something else happened back there with the Sage?" Sakura asked with an evil grin.

"WHAT, no no no no.!" Hinata replied while she shook her head.

"We….Well….." Hinata began.

"I…..I keep thinking about his touch."

"His touch?" Sakura asked confused with the way Hinata had put it.

"No no it wasn't like that." Hinata said as she waved her hands while the blush on her face grew even darker.  
"What I mean is…..His touch….. It felt familiar to me…You know…..L..Like a spark that I haven't felt in a long time."

"Huh…..A spark huh?" Sakura said while trying to figure out the meaning of Hinata's words.

As the two young Kunoichi approached the main gate, they soon found an elderly man with long white spiky hair arguing with the two guards stationed at the main gates. While a young man hid on the opposite side of the man. Completely out of both Hinata's and Sakura's sight.

"Look I'm telling you we do have an appointment with the Hokage!" The man yelled.

"Sir please calm down." One of the men said.

"Now can you tell us what your names?" The other asked.

"Jiraiya her husband, and Naruto Uzumaki her grandson." The elderly man said.

After hearing those names both men's skin turned to a light shade of gray while a look of fear and terror took over their faces.

"L…Lord Jiraiya and the honorable grandson Naruto!" Both men shouted in unison.

Hinata was shocked, completely unable to move after hearing the name of the young man that stood by the elderly man.

"N…N…Naruto." Hinata said to herself as she closely looked at young man behind the elder.

Once Hinata had seen the young man with spiky blonde hair, and whisker scars on his cheeks. She knew that the young man was her childhood best friend. A sudden rush of happiness and joy overflew within Hinata.

"Naruto!" Hinata said in a joyful tone.

The young man quickly turned towards Hinata and was equally shocked to see her.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked himself with a surprised look on his face.

"Hinata!" Naruto shouted as a massive smile grew on his face.

Both teens ran towards each other and held on to one another as tightly as they could.

"I've missed you so much Naruto." Hinata said as she buried her face deep within Naruto's black shirt.

"I missed you too Hinata." Naruto said with a soft smile.

"Wow Hinata you've gotten a lot taller since the last time I saw ya." Naruto said with a ig smile on his face.

"M…..Me….Wh….What about you. I mean the last time I saw you we we're about the same height, and now." Hinata said as she looked up to Naruto.

"Uh….I don't mean to interrupt but who's this guy Hinata?" Sakura asked as she walked up to the two.

"You don't remember who this is Sakura?" Hinata asked as she and Naruto stood side by side.

"This is Naruto Uzumaki…..You know from our childhood." Hinata said as she waved her had to him while Naruto bowed toward Sakura.

"Wait….This can't be the same idiot from when we were kids right?" Sakura asked with a smug look on her face.

"Awww….Why the cold shoulder Sakura?" Naruto replied with his head lowered in a depressed manner.

"So how long has it been Naruto?" Sakura asked.

Then from out of nowhere Jiraiya came from out of nowhere and placed his hand on top of Naruto's shoulder.

"Ten long years." Jiraiya said.

As Naruto was beginning to relish the moment he noticed how Hinata was twiddling her fingers like she did when they we're younger.

"Hey Hinata…..Is something bugging ya?" Naruto asked.

The young Kunoichi found it hard to say anything, but persevered and began to ask Naruto many questions.

"I….It's n….Not that I'm happy to see you again Naruto…..B….But why have you come back after all these years. And…..Why haven't you sent anything to village…..to let us know that you were alright ?" Hinata asked while a small pool of tears began to form underneath her beautiful lavender colored eyes.

Naruto began to reach out to Hinata but hesitated at the last moment and quickly retreated his hand back to his side.

"Hinata….I….." Naruto said in a low yet sadden tone while he looked towards the ground.

"What he's trying to say is that. He had to leave on account of some personal matters regarding some threats to the Hokage at the time." Jiraiya said.

"Hence why he couldn't send any of you letters and such, for we feared that any of the village's enemies could have taken them and trace it back to him to where they could have brought him harm or even worse." The old sage added.

"Oh….I see." Hinata said as she began to wipe away her tears.

"Look I know how much you two probably want to catch up with him, but Naruto and I have a very important meeting with the Hokage and I'm afraid that were running late." Jiraiya said as he and Naruto began walking towards the Hokage's mansion.

"I'll try and catch up with ya later kay Hinata!" Naruto shouted as he waved back to the two young Kunoichi.

"O…Okay." Hinata replied in a soft yet gentle tone as she waved back to him.

After a few minutes of walking through the village Jiraiya noticed how depressed his grandson had become after his little reunion with the two girl from the main gate."

"Say Naruto…..What's got you down buddy?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto didn't reply but instead he found himself entering a long forgotten memory.

It was set Ten years ago, back when Naruto was only six years old.

It was a warm and sunny summer's day. He and Hinata were playing in the Hokage's garden just like any other day, while Naruto's parents Minato and Kushina were watching them from a gazebo located not too far away from where the two were playing.

The mood suddenly changed when a man with an animal themed masked suddenly appeared in front of the Hokage and his wife.

"Lord Hokage I have some disturbing Intel." The man said as he bowed in respect to the Hokage.

"Oh what kind of Intel?' Minato asked as everyone gathered around them.

The masked man walked towards Minato and whispered the information to him, which after hearing Minato had a shocked expression on his face.

"Are you sure?" Minato asked with a blank look on his face.

The man shook his head to confirm what he had told The Hokage.

"I see."

"Minato what's going on?" Kushina asked as she held onto both Naruto and Hinata.

"Kushina….Honey….Could you take Hinata back to the Hyuga Compound please?" Minato asked.

"Don't worry I'll watch over Naruto while you're away."

Kushina hesitated at first, but once she saw the worry in her husband's eyes she knew that something big was going on.

She then held onto Hinata's hand and escorted her back to the Hyuga Compound, while Minato quickly grabbed Naruto and held him in his arms while he and the Anbu agent entered the Manson.

After Kushina had returned, both she and Minato told Naruto to wait in his room while they talked with the Anbu agent in the living room.

"Are you sure about this Intel you've received?" Minato asked while Kushina held tightly onto his hand.

"I'm afraid so Lord Hokage." The Anbu agent said.

"The Intel that we've received confirmers Lord Jiraiya's suspicions that a terrorist organization known as The Akatsuki. Have in fact been collecting the other Jinchuuriki and harnessing their tailed beasts."

Both Kushina and Minato had a shocked expression on their faces.

"Oh no those poor people." Kushina said with her hand covering her mouth.

"As we all know that a Jinchuuriki cannot survive after having their tailed beast extracted from themselves." The Anbu agent said.

"We need to focus on protecting the remaining Jinchuuriki before this Akatsuki can get ahold of them." Minato said.

"What will you have us do Lord Hokage." The Anbu agent said as he knelt before the Hokage.

Minato then walked towards a nearby window where he stared at the beautiful scenery.

"We have to hide them and seclude them from the outside world." Minato said.

"What!" Kushina shouted.

"But Minato. If we do this then won't that mean?"

"Yes." Minato replied.

"We'll have to hide Naruto as well."

Kushina struggled to fight back the tears growing inside her eyes.

"No…No…..I WON'T LET ANYONE TAKE MY BABY AWAY FROM ME!" Kushina shouted as a stream of tears ran down the sides of her face.

"Kushina!" Minato shouted grabbing her attention.

"Think about it. Would you rather have Naruto safe, or in the clutches of an organization that only want to extract the power within him. Where they will do whatever they can to get it, even if it means killing him?""

"I…" Kushina started.

Minato walked over to his wife where he wrapped her in his embraced as tight as he could.

"I know….I wished there was another way…..But."

"I understand." Kushina said while her husband began to stroke the back of her hair.

Unaware to any of the adults at the time that Naruto was secretly listing to their conversation, fighting back not only tears but a growing anger inside him.

"We have to tell Naruto soon." Kushina said.

"I know, and don't worry I know the perfect place where he can stay." Minato said.

"Where?" Kushina asked.

"Mount Myoboku. It's secluded and not only that his grandfather can train him there on how too use the Nine Tail's power."

"Alright I'll go talk to him while you set up the arrangements." Kushina said as she walked towards Naruto's room.

"Alright meanwhile I want you to find a way to alert the other nations. Let them know about The Akatsuki and to begin the relocation of the remaining Jinchuuriki." Minato said to the Anbu agent.

"At once my lord!" The Anbu agent said as he vanished into thin air.

Then as Minato began writing a message to his father Kushina's shrieks of terror echoed throughout the living room.

"Kushina what's wrong?" Minato asked as he ran towards where he had last heard his wife's screams.

"Naruto…..He's missing!" Kushina said as she and Minato stood in Naruto's room where there was no sign of their son.


	5. Chapter Four: Sudden Revelations

Chapter Four: Sudden Revelations

"Kushina what's wrong?" Minato asked as he ran towards where he had last heard his wife's screams.

"Naruto…..He's missing!" Kushina said as she and Minato stood in Naruto's room where there was no sign of their son.

"What should we do Minato?" Kushina asked.

"I'll gather a group of Shinobi while you begin searching for Naruto." Minato said.

"Okay!" Kushina said as she ran out the door while Minato vanished into thin air.

Meanwhile deep within the village, we find Naruto running through the crowds of villagers while streams of tears ran down the sides of his face.

"I can't believe that mom and dad would actually consider doing this to me!" Naruto said to himself.

"Why couldn't they put my thoughts, my feelings into consideration?" Naruto said as images of all his closest friends came into his thoughts.

"I don't want to leave my friends behind, especially….." Naruto said as his thoughts we're slowly turning to the young Hyuga heiress.

From her short midnight hair, to her soft lavender colored eyes she was all that he could think about.

"Her." Naruto said as a tear drop fell down the side of his face.

Suddenly the young shinobi bumped into a couple as he was running down the streets.

"Ow…." Naruto said as he rubbed the side of his face.

Once Naruto saw who had bumped a small smile came over his face.

"Grandma Tsunade, Grandpa Jiraiya!" Naruto said as he ran up to his grandparents.

"Hehe, hey sport how ya doing!" Jiraiya asked as he lifted his grandson off the ground and into his arms.

"Naruto it's been so long, look at how you've grown." Tsunade said with a smile.

They both noticed how Naruto was crying.

"Hey champ what's wrong?" Jiraiya asked with a concern look on his face.

Naruto couldn't respond right away, as he swept the tears off his face.

"Mom and Dad want to send me away." Naruto said with a sadden look.

Both Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at each other with a shocked look on their faces.

"Minato and Kushina must've told him." Tsunade said.

Jiraiya then gave a small sigh.

"I'd knew someday this would happen."

"What?" Naruto asked in confusion?"

"Um Naruto where are your parents now?" Tsunade asked.

"I dunno, maybe back at the house?" Naruto replied.

"I see." Tsunade said.

"Jiraiya, could you please talk to Naruto while I let his parents know that we've found him?" Tsunade said.

"Yeah no problem." Jiraiya said as he lifted Naruto onto his shoulders.

"Hey Naruto you wanna get an ice pop?" Jiraiya asked.

As soon as Jiraiya asked that Naruto's face lit up with joy.

"I thought so." Jiraiya said as he and Naruto walked through the streets of the village.

"Tell them that I'll have him back in a couple of hours." Jiraiya said as he and Naruto waved back to Tsunade.

"Alright." Tsunade said as he waved back to them.

A few minutes later we find Kushina running through the streets of the village, calling out Naruto's name.

"NARUTO…NARUTO…..NARUT." Kushina shouted but was interrupted by a feminine voice.

"Kushina over here!"

Kushina quickly turned her attention towards the mysterious voice and saw her mother in law Tsunade walking down the street.

"Lady Tsunade!" Kushina said as she ran towards her.

"Oh Kushina I told you that you don't have to be so formal, just call me mom." Tsunade said with a smile.

"Have you seen Naruto anywhere as you came into the village?" Kushina asked in a worried tone.

"Relax Kushina he's fine. He's with his Grandfather right now." Tsunade said with a smile.

Kushina's worried expression slowly turned to a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank goodness he's alright." Kushina said as she placed her hand onto her chest.

"Wait why are you and Lord Jiraiya here today Mother?" Kushina asked.

Tsunade was quite for a second, struggling to tell Kushina what was going through her mind.

"Not here Kushina. I'll explain back at the mansion."

Kushina was confused but she listened and walked along side Lady Tsunade back to the Hokage's mansion.

Meanwhile on the side of the village, we find Naruto sitting underneath the shade of a massive tree as it stood on top of hill overlooking the entire village. He laid on his back with a weary look on his face his while fallen leaves danced across him in the gentle breeze.

A few seconds later Jiraiya appeared, holding a blue colored ice pop, which he then split into two ice pops.

"Thanks Grandpa, blue's my favorite." Naruto said with a small smile.

"No problem sport." Jiraiya said with a smile.

"So what's this about your parents wanting you to move away?" Jiraiya said with a curious look on his face as he took a bite from his ice pop.

Naruto took a bite from his ice pop, he then took in sigh of air as he began explaining what he had heard from his parents and the man from the Anbu .

"And that's when I ran away!" Naruto said as he finished telling Jiraiya his story while he took another bite of his ice pop.

"I see." Jiraiya said as he rubbed the bottom of his chin.

"Well by what you're telling me Naruto is that it sounds like all your parents are trying to do is protect you from these bad men." Jiraiya added.

"Yeah but…I don't wanna leave the village." Naruto said as he looked out at the village.

"I mean…..I've made so many friends, and then there's Ichiraku's, and I'm even supposed to start at the Academy soon." Naruto as he finished off the last of his ice pop.

"Ah now I know what's going on." Jiraiya with smile as Naruto turned his attention towards him.

"You've must have a girlfriend." Jiraiya said with a grin.

Suddenly Naruto's body tensed and his head began to twitch nervously.

"Whaa…Whaa….Wha…No way and besides I'm too young for that kinda stuff anyway." Naruto said as he tried to look the other way while trying to hide the beads of sweat coming down the sides of his face.

"Oh then could it be that my Grandson has a crush on local cuttie?" Jiraiya said with a wink.

Suddenly Naruto's face grew into a deep shade of red.

"GRANDPA!" Naruto shouted.

"Alright, aright I'm kidding." Jiraiya said with laugh.

"But in all seriousness I know where you're coming from Naruto."

Naruto quickly turned his attention towards his grandfather, while he looked out towards the village as a gentle summer's breeze came through.

"This is your home, you've made lots of friends, shared many happy memories, and you even have a family here that loves you very much." Jiraiya said as he closed his eyes for a brief moment.

"But…..What if I told you that those same bad people that your parents were talking about wanted to take all of those things away from you?" Jiraiya asked.

"What!" Naruto asked.

"In case you haven't noticed yet Naruto, you're not like any of the other children."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked with a confused look on his face.

"What I mean is, you have a special power inside you. A power that not only a lot of shinobi have died for…But also killed for." Jiraiya said in an ominous tone.

Naruto tightly clenched onto his stomach where he knew that the power his grandfather was talking was placed inside him.

"And that's exactly what those people will do in order to get that power Naruto!" Jiraiya added.

"No I won't let that happen!" Naruto shouted.

"I won't let those bad men kill innocent lives just to get to me!"

"Oh really, then what do you purpose on doing to stop them then?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'll….I'll focus on my studies at the academy, and become stronger!"

"Ha…..You actually believe that you can learn the necessary Justus to fight the Akatsuki at the Academy?" Jiraiya said.

"Okay if I can't learn the necessary Justus then… I'll create my own powerful Justu!"

"Ha please, if it's anything like that Harem Technique you showed me then you will never be able to protect anyone."

Naruto quickly stood up, anger fueling his fists.

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto shouted.

Then a puff of smoke engulfed him and from that smoke appeared two Narutos.

"Oh he's already mastered the Shadow clone eh?" Jiraiya said to himself.

"Just watch grandpa, this is a special technique that dad's been teaching me!" Naruto said as he held out his right hand while his clone stuck out both his arms in front of originals.

The clone began swirling a stream of blue colored energy straight into the real Naruto's hand while he focused the chakra.

"Wait isn't that….!" Jiraiya said as he watched in awe.

Then from the palm of his hand Naruto was holding onto a small orb of swirling chakra.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY GRANDPA!" Naruto said as his shadow clone disappeared while he charged straight towards his grandfather.

"WHA…WHA….WHA….WHA..WAHHHH!" Jiraiya said as he jumped out of his grandson's way.

"GET READY GRANDPA CAUSE I'M GONNA SHOW YOU THE SAME JUTSU THAT DAD USED TO SAVE THEVILLAGE!" Naruto said as hi aimed the small orb of swirling chakra at the base of the tree.

"HERE COME'S A RESANGA…" Naruto shouted.

But just as the swirling orb of energy was about to make contact with the tree, the orb quickly vanished and Naruto found himself holding onto thin air.

"OH MAN NOT NOW!" Naruto said to himself.

He then crashed right into the base of the tree face first.

"Ooooh…..That had to hurt." Jiraiya said with a wince.

As Naruto slid down the trunk of the tree, he pushed himself off the ground while rubbing his face.

"Ouch." Naruto said.

Jiraiya slowly came up to his grandson and picked him up.

"My, My Naruto was that the Rasengan I saw?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yea…Yeah….Dad's been teaching me on how to use it. But no matter how hard I try that's all I can do." Naruto said as he slumped on the ground.

"I'm never gonna be as good as him." Naruto said with depressed tone.

Jiraiya slowly rubbed Naruto's back, doing his best to comfort his grandson.

"Hey Naruto, do you really want to become as strong as your dad?" Jiraiya said.

"Yes, even stronger if I can." Naruto replied.

"And do you really want to protect everything and everyone you love?"

"Of course. I'd do anything to protect the village."

"Well then why don't you come and train with me."

"What?" Naruto said as he looked up to his grandfather.

" Yeah why not?" Jiraiya asked.

"I mean, do you actually think that you can learn the proper way to master the Rasengan at the academy. I bet those chuckle heads don't even know what the Rasengan is." Jiraiya said as he lifted himself off the ground.

"But why do you want to train me?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya didn't say anything at first, but after a second or two he replied to Naruto's question.

"Naruto…..I know that you will have many hardships ahead of you. And that you will find yourself in many battles, in which an ordinary Shinobi could not stand a chance in."

"So?" Naruto asked with smug look.

"So…..I want you to be ready for those battles because not only will you be fighting for yourself or the villagers or even the village. No…You will be fighting to protect the entire world."

This sudden revelation shook Naruto to the core.

"I….I'm supposed to protect…The world?" Naruto said with a gulp.


End file.
